Posted on 06/22/2006 1:59:22 AM PDT by familyop
President George W Bush told Europeans yesterday it was "absurd" to regard the United States as the greatest threat to world peace, as he concluded an EU-US summit overshadowed by disputes on Guantanamo Bay and trans-Atlantic trade barriers.
A visibly annoyed Mr Bush was responding to a journalist's question about opinion polls, asking why most Europeans believe the United States is a greater menace than Iran or North Korea.
"It's absurd, is my statement," Mr Bush snapped, taking the microphone ahead of the president of the European Commission in his haste to answer the question. "We'll defend ourselves, but we are working with our partners to spread peace and democracy around the world."
Even before Mr Bush landed for the one-day meeting in Vienna, his host, the Austrian chancellor, Wolfgang Schuessel, had made clear he would be demanding the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, in the name of the European Union.
As Mr Bush arrived for the annual summit, held this year in the baroque Hofburg palace, scattered protesters burned an American flag and chanted "go home Bush".
Once inside the meeting, however, Mr Bush took the initiative, and spoke of his desire to close Guantanamo Bay, diplomats said. Mr Bush said the US was keen to send all but the most dangerous detainees back to their home countries.
But he pointedly reminded his European hosts that the majority of the detainees still in the camp were from countries like Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Afghanistan.
The Bush administration has previously faced sharp criticism and opposition from Europe for proposing to send terrorist suspects to such nations, where they may face torture or the death penalty. Speaking at the press conference after the summit, Mr Bush said: "I'd like to end Guantanamo, I'd like it to be over with. One of those things that we will do is that we will send people back to their home countries."
Two hundred detainees had been sent back, and some 400 remained, he went on, mostly from Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Yemen. "I explained our desire to send them back. Of course, there is international pressure not to send them back. I hope we will be able to resolve that," he said. The US president repeated his insistence that some of those in the camp were "cold-blooded killers", who had to be tried in US courts, and who would murder again if let out on the streets.
Mr Bush was starting the summit when he and his European hosts learned of a statement from the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, declaring it would be mid-August before his country responded to a European offer of incentives to suspend suspicious nuclear enrichment activities.
Asked if the United States would come to the table for provisional talks, while waiting for a final Iranian verdict, Mr Bush replied: "Our position is, we'll come to the table when they verifiably suspend. Period."
The US president said that two months "seems like an awfully long time" to wait for an answer to the European offer, presented in early June. "It shouldn't take the Iranians that long to analyse what's a reasonable deal."
Mr Bush also offered a warning to North Korea that it faced further isolation if it carried through on hints that it was about to test-fire a long range missile, capable of hitting Alaska.
Mr Bush was tackled a second time on the collapse in European public support for his administration by a Viennese journalist who reeled off statistics, including the fact that three quarters of Austrians regard the United States as a grave threat.
It was absurd to think America more dangerous than Iran, he repeated. "We are a transparent democracy, we debate things in the open," he said.
Citing record US funding for Aids victims in Africa, Mr Bush said his foreign policy was "tough when it has to be, but on the other hand it's compassionate".
On trade barriers, the two sides appeared to have made little progress, with only weeks to go until a crucial meeting to agree market opening measures aimed at helping the developing world.
A formal joint statement said only that the EU and the United States were committed to "reaching an ambitious conclusion" to the current round of talks, which have already missed crucial deadlines and are far behind schedule. It offered no specifics.
Author obviously has no idea what the word "furious" means.
The rest of the world is so amazingly ignorant, it boggles the mind.
I would be too if all I had was BBC/CNN International.
"furious"?? LOL.
Well its hard to talk with the Europeans because they keep stopping to kneel towards mecca
Furious, as opposed to that reasoned statesman Kim Jong-Il.
"Furious"???
I laughed, too. In western Europe, our President is caricatured as a wild, trigger-happy cowboy of sorts, and our leaders in general as bulls in china shops. IMO, our Ambassador to the UN scares them all. ;-)
Screw them all.
(Denny Crane: "Every one should carry a gun strapped to their waist. We need more - not less guns.")
Regardless of whether "furious" is an exaggeration, sharp anger is certainly justified. I want to look these people in the eyes and shake them. "Think! Let's defeat this menace together!!"
As our dollar adjusts toward the yuan and Euros keep their euro unnaturally high, more of them might come to visit us.
When they do, we should all act like Yosemite Sam or Rodney Dangerfield when in their presence.
Put the typical European in a room with two other people. One a mature, male cop, and the other a young Middle Eastern male in traditional Muslim garb.
Both of them have a weapon. The cop has a hand gun and the Muslim has a long knife.
When the European is asked which is the greater threat, who does the European point to?
The cop.
Why?
Because he's holding a gun.
Don't worry about the anti Americanism from media and loaded polls; I'm sure the Western leaders all know who the best hope is for civilisation!
The Austrian president gave a very heartfelt and fairly impassioned defense of the USA in response to that question. It was some snivelling European reporter who asked it, along with poll numbers.
I'd like to remind Wolfgang that his pissant country is so insignificant that his demands are an utter joke.
Some folks can't tell the difference between the fire and the fireman.
How dishonest, the question was asked directly of the President so of course he answered it. He was not furious, he was bemused and a bit disgusted, as was I when I heard this nonsense.
"The Austrian president gave a very heartfelt and fairly impassioned defense of the USA in response to that question"
Good
"It was some snivelling European reporter who asked it, along with poll numbers."
Typical - but where's the surprise?
Finally - did I read this right - there's a big brouhaha over Guantanamo but they don't want the inmates sent back to their own countries because they might face torture????!!!!!!
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